Mark Essien
Nigerian entrepreneur
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mark Anthony Essien ⓘ (born 18 December 1980 in Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State) is a Nigerian entrepreneur, software developer and startup investor. He is the founder and CEO of Hotels.ng, one of the first online hotel booking websites in Nigeria.[1][2][3] Before he founded Hotels.ng in 2013, Essien had previously built a file sharing software called Gnumm (acquired by Snoopstar.com), followed by a language learning startup called Ingolingo.[4][5]
Mark Anthony Essien | |
|---|---|
| Born | 18 December 1980 (age 45) |
| Occupations | Entrepreneur, software developer |
| Known for | Founding Hotels.ng |
| Title | CEO of Hotels.ng |
| Website | www.markessien.com |
Career
Hotels.ng
In 2013, Essien founded Hotels.ng. Spark.ng made an initial investment of $75,000 and another investment of $150,000.[6][7][8]
In 2015, the company secured additional investment funding of $1.2 million from international investors EchoVC Pan-Africa Fund,[9] a seed-stage technology fund, and Omidyar Network, the investment vehicle of eBay founder Pierre Omidyar.[10][11][12][13]
Essien stepped down as the CEO of HNG Internships, a programme he founded to solve the Nigerian software engineering talent problem. He handed over to Seyi Onifade[14]
Awards and recognition
Family
On 8 April 2018 Essien married Jenni Naiaretti, who is also a developer.[16]
Investments
In 2016, Hotels.ng co-invested with Jason Njoku and Spark in OgaVenue,[17] an events booking platform. Essien serves as a director on the board of OgaVenue.
Public talks
Essien is a frequent TEDx speaker. He has delivered talks on leveraging networks to build a business and how Africa can lead in the global technology space, speaking at TEDxEuston and TEDxGbagada respectively.[18][19][20]